Belinda and Judy.....Liberal Defenders of the Sisterhood.

By now many of you are familiar with this article from the venerable G&M. Some of the most interesting text:

The federal Liberal women's caucus is accusing the Conservative government of trying to keep females “barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen,” saying the government is pursuing an ideological agenda that ignores women's needs and cuts funding to those who need help the most.

The Liberal women released a set of party policies Monday aimed at what they say are the most pressing social and economic issues facing Canadian women, particularly working women and their families, caregivers and seniors.

Improving the social and economic equality of women is the driving force behind the first volume of what the Liberals are calling their “Pink Book.”

The document is the product of cross-country working sessions with women and women's groups held last July, and is slated to be part of the party's election platform.

The recommendations are also aimed at countering what Belinda Stronach, chair of the Liberal women's caucus, described as the Conservative government's “attack” on women's progress.

The recommendations include commitments to reinstate the Liberal child-care and early-learning plan the Tories scrapped after the last election; to reverse budget cuts to social programs and Status of Women; to develop a national caregiver agenda; to provide more benefits to the self-employed, and to secure equal pay for work of equal value.

Judy Sgro said it's not so much the dollars as the message the Tory cuts send.

“I think Harper and his Conservative government, based on their policies, would clearly prefer women would stay barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen and move us backwards 40 years,” she said.

Now I must applaud Belinda and Judy on the brilliant imagery utilized in naming their report the "Pink Book". The intelligence required to associate empowered women with all things pink is positively breathtaking! Given Judy's propensity to empower women through the fast tracking of immigration "stripper permits" I'm sure the published "Pink Book" will be bound in hot pink spandex with handy velcro fasteners.

Some insights into Judy's plan to empower women through the exotic arts:

Sgro has consistently come under attack in the House of Commons over her office's decision to extend a residence permit to a Romanian stripper, and Ottawa's controversial program to allow foreign strippers to get special work visas.

"I deny any allegation," of wrongdoing, Sgro told the House Friday during question period.

Alina Balaican received the ministerial permit three days before the June 28 federal election, which returned the Liberals to power with a minority government.

Sgro said Balaican was allowed to stay under "humanitarian grounds." She said Balaican was "an individual married to a Canadian citizen, working in an industry that she no longer wanted to work in."

When asked about how the case was handled, Sgro said she'd do it "again today."

As for the fact that Balaican worked on Sgro's re-election campaign, Sgro told Canada AM had no knowledge of that.

"I wasn't even aware of the fact that she had worked on the campaign," she explained.

"I had vertigo -- very bad -- for most of the summer. For the last two weeks of the campaign I was not in the campaign office."

The matter has been referred to the ethics commissioner, Bernard Shapiro.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper accused the federal Liberals of "breathtaking hypocrisy" for allowing the import of strippers, while complaining about sexual exploitation.

Sgro also has come under fire over a meeting in a Toronto strip club at which her chief advisor, Ihor Wons, discussed visa requests with the owner. That owner donated $5,500 to Liberal coffers.

"My staff went and met with the owners of one of these strip clubs," Sgro told Canada AM. "He paid a courtesy call at the request of a friend, met with him, told him that they couldn't do anything for them," she said.

"That was the end of the issue."

As it turns out it wasn't the end of the issue and poor Judy was forced to resign. On a happier note Judy was later exonerated by then ethics commissioner Bernard ( I never met a Lib I couldn't clear) Shapiro.

As an aside Judy, I've found that when one spends extended amounts of time subjected to strobe lights and disco balls it's best to wear shades to avoid those nasty bouts of vertigo.

On the other hand Belinda takes a much different approach to supporting her sisters in arms.

A few pertinent clips to set the stage:

In some dish'n'dirt quarters, the alleged romantic alliance of Tie Domi and Belinda Stronach has been tacitly framed as Beauty and the Beast: Except she's no flaming beauty and he's no Neanderthal beast.

The accused Other Woman, she is a compelling combination of blond ambition, moneyed privilege, political inconstancy and suspect judgment, with a very public trail of intimate relationships gone bad behind her.

But the least-known protagonist in this alleged three-way tango of love and betrayal and anguish is The Wife, Leanne Domi.

A Mrs. of 13 years standing who has, already once before, forgiven her husband for what she says was a previous infidelity, on the promise that he would never again hurt her like this.
"If it wasn't for my husband's affair with Belinda, we wouldn't be getting a divorce," Leanne told the Star in an interview last night.

"We were happily married. If not for Belinda, I think we still would be happily married. But he's no longer my husband and he will never be my husband again."

It would be sexist to portray Stronach as some kind of man-eater who's now got her French-manicured talons into Domi, small-town boy made spectacularly good. By this point in the evolution of the sexes, surely women are just as entitled to their appetites and assignations as men. But the optics are lousy when a family goes bust because of it, and even more so for an elected politician who depends on the fealty of voters, one who — the irony is withering — is chair of the Liberal women's caucus.

Stronach appears singularly lacking in sisterly sympathies whilst also something of a balls-crusher, at least on the evidence of discarded, sad-eyed Peter MacKay — oh, we felt his pain! — dumped simultaneous with the Member from Newmarket-Aurora crossing the floor from Conservatives to Liberals, on the eve of an election no less. Her allegiances, like her love, are fickle.

This from the second Belinda link:

A decade before Belinda Stronach met Tie Domi, she had an affair with another ex-Maple Leaf, Jerome Dupont, his ex-wife says.

"It's obviously a pattern for her, but I don't think it should be used against her and her ability as a politician," says Caroline Dupont, who has two children, aged 15 and 17, with the former Leaf.

So to summarize......the Chair of the LPC Women's caucus seems to have a demonstrated appetite for other women's husbands. Her co-chair seems to have no problem with executive staff members seemingly brokering "stripper work visas" with strip club owners.

Hmmmmmmm. Methinks these hardworking Lady Liberal MPs seem to have something other than female constituents on their minds with the strategic release of the "Pink Book".

What could that be? Ahhh yes....they are in fact Liberal MPs.....sooo the answer could only be POWER for the sake of POWER!!!!

Check this out:

Judy Sgro has endured the gentle arm-twisting from her caucus colleagues, even rebuffed the offers of prominent positions within the leadership camps.

And now as one of the few MPs who haven't endorsed a Liberal leadership candidate, she's a rarity going into this week's convention in Montreal, which runs from Tuesday to Saturday.

I think everybody I know on the different camps has called," Sgro said.
And it's not just Sgro's vote the various leadership organizers hope to grab but also the dozen of undeclared delegates from her York West riding.

"I wanted to take my time and look at the various people, some of them I did not know very well. I just didn't feel there was a need for a rush," said Sgro, a former immigration minister.

So Judy and the delegates she controls are uncommitted! I wonder who Belinda has declared support for? Let's see!

Most other Liberal MPs have already declared their support for one of the leadership candidates. And among MPs from Greater Toronto, Michael Ignatieff is the big winner, getting endorsements from a dozen politicians, including former cabinet ministers John McCallum and Jim Peterson.

Gerard Kennedy, who quit as Ontario's education minister for his leadership run, has the backing of seven MPs, including Dan McTeague and Navdeep Bains.

Bob Rae has the support of four MPs and Stéphane Dion can count on three Toronto-area MPs. But former cabinet ministers Joe Volpe and Ken Dryden didn't have much luck wooing the their caucus colleagues — Volpe has just two endorsements; Ken Dryden has none.
(As the party's interim leader, Toronto Centre MP Bill Graham has pledged to remain neutral in the contest.)

Just four local MPs remain on the fence, including Belinda Stronach and Sgro, who thinks that, after the ups and downs of the leadership campaign, some of her colleagues may regret making endorsements so early.


So there it is soul sisters!!!! Belinda and Judy are two of the only four undeclared Liberal MP's from the GTA. I suggest the timing of the release of this so-called "Pink Book" is really about oldschool, backroom, ball busting, old boys politics.

It would seem that Judy and Belinda have set themselves up as kingmakers at the upcoming LPC Leadership Convention.

That might explain the overblown rhetoric. To butcher a line from an old joke .....

"That's no lady that's my MP"

Syncro

The Donkey at The Dais

We've all heard the phrase "the elephant in the room," used to indicate some uncomfortable, unspoken truth that "polite" people refuse to acknowledge. Now I'll be the first to admit that an overwhelming sense of decorum is not one of my strengths and as a novice writer I've been known to butcher a phrase or two.

That given I'm going to combine these two facts to typify the LPC announcement of Howard Dean as the keynote speaker at the upcoming LPC Leadership Convention as, "The Donkey at The Dais". For obvious reasons I think this works on numerous levels. I'm sure you're all familiar with this beauty by now.



EEEEEhaaawww! EEEEhaaawww! I can hardly wait to see this jackass at the dais!

But that's not all there is to this story. Some of you may recall the furor raised in the MSM and by some noted politicos last May when PMSH had the unmitigated gall to meet with noted Republican pollster Frank Luntz prior to Mr. Luntz being a keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Civitas Society.

I should note that the Civitas Society is in no way officially connected to the CPC or the Canadian Government. Regardless, the outcry was loud and the apparent implications for Canadian politics were dire. Some pertinent clips here:

Liberal MP Mark Holland said the Conservatives are attempting to follow in the footsteps of the Republicans.

"There is an attempt to repeat what the Republicans did in the States to us up here in the north and there is a very close alignment of Republican ideology with what the Conservatives have."

Horrors!!! Independent members of a Canadian political party emulating an American political party's strategy. Mark sees the obvious danger in a close alignment in ideology. I wonder if this could be alternately described as a natural affinity? Anyways....according to Mark....this was positively apocalyptic.

Mark Holland summed up his indignation with this question:

"Why is the prime minister taking direction from Republican pollsters?" Liberal MP Mark Holland asked during question period Monday.

I wonder if Mark has read this LPC press release? Some highlights:

The Liberal Party of Canada today is pleased to announce that the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Governor Howard Dean, will give the keynote address at the Party's upcoming Leadership and Biennial Convention.

We are proud to have Gov. Dean address our Party. Aside from our obvious affinity with the Democratic Party, Liberals are excited to hear the Chairman's views on a modern democracy and the role of the Democratic Party in the new U.S. political environment. And the timing couldn't be better, said Steven MacKinnon, General Secretary of the Convention.

Well Steven, the timing may be good but the optics....not so much. If I understand Liberal logic (I know, I know, an obvious oxymoron but please bear with me) correctly a Republican pollster speaking to a small c-conservative group is a travesty but the Chairman of The Democratic National Committee giving the keynote address at the LPC Leadership Convention is a matter of "pride". Hmmmmmmm....interesting.

I wonder if any of the leadership contenders have anything to say about Governor Dean rallying the troops? It seems Ken Dryden has heard a rumor about this very issue. I guess poor Kens blackberry is broken. Regardless......The rumor is true Ken. I'm sorry to hear you don't approve but I'll try to put it in terms you can understand. Sometimes the team just doesn't play that well in front of you.

I guess the only other question I have is what will be the message delivered by that savy campaigner Howard Dean? If the concept of karma prevails it might be something like... "Do as I say not as I do." or maybe "The power of Hyperbole can NEVER be Overstated". It seems to me that either of those messages would be appropriate for a LPC crowd.

Anyways....I'll be signing off.....I've got to go to the grocery store AND the bottle depot AND the CAR WASH and the AND THE POST OFFICE AND THE LOONEY STORE.....EEEEHHAAAWWWW!!!!!

Syncro

CBC...CTV...Global and a Guelph Mercury

I was surfing around tonight and found this interesting piece by ChuckerCanuck on the latest visit of one Bill Clinton to Canada. It seems Bill is in country for a couple of fundraisers. What I found interesting were Bill's purported comments on Canadian Forces involvement in Afghanistan as reported by something called a Guelph Mercury. Some pertinent excerpts:

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton urged Canada to keep its soldiers fighting in Afghanistan in a talk in Kitchener yesterday.

Pulling out of the country now could allow the repressive Taliban regime to take control again, he warned.

The Taliban would again offer protection to the terrorists who attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001 and who are now in hiding, he said.

"That would have direct implications for your security," Clinton said.

Holy shit! That sounds absolutely hawkish! Direct implications for our security? Bill Clinton taking a position that supports Prime Minister Stephen Harper and those nasy Conservatives? What the hell is this world coming to? With trepadation I read on:

"If we lose in Afghanistan and the Taliban come back, it will not only be a nightmare for the Afghan people," Clinton said, "but it will create greater options of movement for the Al-Qaeda leadership, and increase the likelihood that they will be able to mount and conduct more global terrorist operations."

Clinton drew distinctions between the NATO-led war in Afghanistan and the American-led war in Iraq.

The U.S. made a "serious mistake" by invading Iraq when it was already fighting in Afghanistan, and by underestimating the challenges in each place, he said.

"Because Canada has been part of our NATO alliance in Afghanistan, you are paying the price of that," Clinton said.

Clinton said the resignation yesterday of U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld likely signals a change in U.S. policy on the Iraq war.

"It is a signal that there will be a different direction," he said.

What?? Withdrawal from Afstan would mean an increase in global terrorism? Afstan is a NATO led as opposed to being an American (read Bush) led war? Potential changes in U.S. foriegn policy? How can this be? I'm so confused Uncle Willy!

I could barely believe what I was reading! Having never heard of a "Guelph Mercury" I immediately became suspicious. I mean really....I've heard of Mercury (huge car...something like a LTD) but what the hell is a Guelph? I decided to check this obvious fraud out. Being a proud citizen of this great country I immediately thought of "Canada's Most Trusted News Source"....The CBC.

Just as I suspected. Not a word about the previous President of the United States commenting on what a Democrat controlled Congress might mean for American foriegn policy and the implications this may have on Canadian forces in Afghanistan. Ahhh Haaa!!! This is obviously some kind of hoax that these "Guelphs" are trying to pull on us! I decided to double check the "facts" on the CTV website.

Once again no mention of Bill Clinton supporting Canadian military involvement in Afghanistan. There were however links to a story on that redneck prick Klein attacking Belinda, a really interesting piece on K-Fed, something about those hicks in Alberta cutting down more trees, a bit about our noble opposition trying to convince those nasty Conservatives to save the environment and a brilliant piece on how driving your car is screwing with the environment. I got so interested in these hard hitting bits of journalism that I ended up opening the "Canada" page. to get more. Lo and behold, second from the bottom, I found mention of Bill Clinton along with Belinda Stronach (where have I heard them mentioned together before? anyways I digress). I was going to bust these "Guelphs" once and for all!!

I eagerly clicked on the link and just as I suspected no mention of Afghanistan!! What I did find in the text was much more in line with what one would expect from ex-president Clinton and all the famous, beautifull and important people who flock to the great man! This was more like it:

Belinda Stronach and Rick Mercer pleaded for support Thursday for a program that would provide insecticide-treated nets to protect African children from malaria.

The Canadian MP and well-known Canadian comedian joined luminaries such as former U.S. president Bill Clinton and actor Mia Farrow Thursday in calling for help to end poverty at an international conference on global poverty in Montreal.

The former president, who stopped to sign an autograph on his way into the convention centre, received an ovation more fitting a rock star than a politician, CTV's Rob Lurie reported from the convention centre floor.

Clinton put his charisma to work at the Montreal Millennium Promise Conference, firing up enthusiasm for the elimination of poverty

Yeah!!! Like a rock star!!! I was so excited I could feel the charisma oozing through my high speed connection. I just had to read on:

The war in Iraq cost US$300 billion, Clinton told more than 3,000 attendees of the conference. But the U.S. has failed to provide a promised US$30 billion in promised foreign aid that could help provide protect Africa's water, increase that continents grain production and educate African children, he said.

"We're here today to save lives. It's that's simple," Stronach said.

Stronach and Mercer were at the conference to promote a "Spread the Net" program for purchasing and distributing bed nets in Africa to help protect children from mosquitoes.

Yes!! You preach it sister. It was also comforting to hear the anti-war message from Mr. Clinton that I've come to expect. But I couldn't wait to read more:

The program, which aims to get individuals to buy 500,000 bed nets for distribution in Liberia and Rwanda, is the brainchild of Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, a famed economist and author of The End of Poverty.

Sachs also criticized the U.S. war in Iraq and urged Canadians not to let the Stephen Harper's Conservative government abandon the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

Now that's journalism! I just knew that the war in Iraq and Harpers position on Koyoto had something to do with mosquitos in Africa. Those neo-con bastards! In the end the former president had the final word:

Investing in the fight against poverty now will cost much less than paying for the consequences of not acting later, Clinton noted.

"One in four of all the worlds deaths this year, including huge numbers -- millions of them children -- will come from aids, TB, malaria and infections related to dirty water," Clinton said.

"All of the things we can do are much cheaper than deaing with the aftermath of calamity,'' he said. "And they are also parenthetically are much cheaper than going to war.''

Thank you Mr. President! I just knew you were anti-war! I sat there basking in the cyber induced glow that only the truth can inspire and pondered what my next step might be in exposing the slander that these obviously right wing "Guelphs" were attempting to perpetuate.

I decided to cover all the bases and pop by Global National's site to make sure the bastards hadn't infiltrated there. Thankfully all was well. Three stories on the vicious attack on Belinda, one on a vicious attack on Daniel Igali in Nigeria (something about stealing laptops,cash, cell phones and mosquito nets) three about a naked GWB getting his balls handed to him by someone named Nancy Pelosi and two about those mosquito loving, gas guzzling Conservatives. I sat back and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now to the crux of the matter at hand. I don't know who the hell you "Guelphs" are (probably some code word for conservative) but you can all fuck right off back to Alberta (I presume that's where you evil bastards are from) and take them gas guzzling land yachts with you!

Syncro

This Old Man

Hi All!

I havn't been posting for some time as you may have noticed. The truth be told, I've been depressed as hell with the overall state of affairs of our nation. By this I mean Canada and not one of the myriad of "nations" that exist in the mind of some intellectual who would be king.

I've watched sullenly as our political discourse has descended into hysterical hyperbole about bitches while the mousetached (spelling intentional) wonder proposes to negotiate with the Mullahs. Meanwhile Rae and Brison wave their asses in our collective faces ( an omen of things to come?).

In other charming news the leftard followers of the mousetache are flogging peace poppies during Remembrance Week, clearly riding on the backs of our veterans, ostensibly for the purpose of funding schools for girls in Afstan which clearly would not exist if the policies of the mousetache were enacted. Hypocritical dipshits!

And then I came across this from CTV. I had a laugh and slowly some perspective began to return. Ralph appears to have had the last word on doggie-gate as he often did on many things. I know it's a old tired joke, but somehow Ralph has always been able to knock the wind out of the pompous airbags that inhabit our political landscape. As I read the above article I couldn't get this childhood dittie out of my head. I guess it was the bone thing. Anyways a humble tribute to a remarkable man.

This Old Man

This old man ..he played one......he put the run on bums and scum...with a knick knack paddy whack...get yer ass back home.....city hall was Ralph's to roam.

This old man ...he played two...a couple coolies at the St. Loo...with a knick knack paddy whack....a couple,three or four....Ralphie always found the door.

This old man he played three....environment...hell hug a tree...with a knick knack paddy whack...Ralph was in the weeds...laying in wait for Don Getty.

This old man he played four...dinosaur farts from years before...with a knick knack paddy whack..ice age theory....science was never this funny.

This old man he played five...get a job to stay alive..with a knick knack paddywhack... here's a couple tens.....get off yer ass and act like men.

This old man he played six....the MSM painted us as hicks...with a knick knack paddywhack....no deficits and prosperity.....but then it's just geology.

This old man he played seven...do mad cows go to heaven?...with a knick knack paddywhack.... shoot shovel and shut up....or load it on the rendering truck.

This old man he played eight...Hey Peter who's your date?...with a knick knack paddywhack give that dog a bone......potatoe patch went running home.

This old man he played nine.....well of course he is Ralph Klein...with a knick knack paddy wack...it was quite a run....and fer sure it was god damn fun!

This old man he played ten... he's left the battle to other men....with a knick knack paddywhack...We shall miss the King.....His commonness meant everything!

Thanks Ralph.

Syncro

Calgary- Support The Troops Rally- Redux

I made it to the rally. Those of you who know Calgary will recognize the C-train as the very best access to the city center. I climbed on at Canyon Meadows Station resplendent in my Made in Canada T and a Flames Ballcap. Round about Heritage Station this huge feller boards with a furled CanFlag. We make eye contact and a few nods are exchanged.

I disembark at Olympic Plaza and follow a Vet off the train and onto the platform. Ahead of us is an obviously disheveled native man who reeks of amonia. I increased my pace to get up wind of this pathetic soul. As I passed him, he turned and looked at me with eyes that said, "I quit." I moved on into the plaza infront of city hall as a quiet crowd assembled.

I thought I would observe.

What I saw has both broke my heart and gave me a glimmer of hope.

The turn out on what could only be described as a gorgeous Calgary fall afternoon was dismall.

By my estimation (I counted them) there were about 350 people in attendance...Pols included. The ones that did attend include Jason Kenny, Ted Mortinson, Wayne Cao, Rob Anders, and a few others from the blue-stripe that don't impress me much.

Noticeably adsent, were any Pols of the red or orange (yellow?) stripe. The big three were there too, Global, CTV, CBC. I have to admit, I felt really bad for the girrlll reporter from the CBC. The obvious, gratuitious bitch-slaps were taken at Mother Corp, and Taliban Jack. Some young gal sang an original song entitled, "Canadian Soldier."

I nearly cried... The Pols spoke out, Kenny and Mortinson being the best of the stripe.

The crowd (such as it was) consisted of mostly white, old/young, Canadians. I saw alot of guys with PPCLI T's. Obviously alot of the kids in the crowd were offspring of serving men. Then there were the Vets, about 15-20 of them.

Then we got to hear from an Afghani refuge named, Abduul, (no shit,) who spoke passionately about the reality of Taliban rule. He got the biggest cheer.

I stepped back from the rally to get a larger sense of what was really going on. What I saw does not bode well.

The bum on the park-bench, not the pissy one (this feller had moved on beyond that,) seemed annoyed at this intrusion into his space. He spooled up his backpack after trying to rub the crabs out of his arm-hair.

I jumped back on the train, and so did the feller with the flag. His stop was before mine.............we both avoided eye contact....but as he got off, it was unavoidable. We both shook our heads, and a little part of me died...

Then I got it, the juxtaposition. We live in a country that takes freedom, prosperity, and entitlement for granted. It's no fucking wonder, given the pricks running the show.

There is something desperately wrong with a country, a city, a province, a jurisdiction that can elicit the support of half a million people for a celebration of minority sexuality. The same country cannot find in it's soul to support the children that fight for Us.

I think we're fucked...


Syncro

Calgary-Support The Troops Rally

Following on the heels of the Red Friday Rally in Toronto, organizers in Calgary are holding a similar event tomorrow Saturday, September 30th at 12 noon.

The Rally will be held in front of City Hall. I'll be attending and hope to see a large turn out. I will post some pics sometime tomorrow night. Remember to wear some red (it appears red is not my color as I own nothing red but I will make a purchase and a special exception in this case).

The organizers are holding the rally on a Saturday in hopes that we get a larger turnout than a business day. I have some contract work to complete tomorrow but I think sacrificing a couple of hours to honor our troops is the least I can do. I hope many of you out there feel the same.

Anyways......I hope to be a small blogger in a very large crowd.

Cheers

Syncro

Sex.. Thugs and The Same Old Same Old

Given all the nonsense surrounding the Liberal leadership race one can be excused for feeling a little disoriented. Time for a recap of the current absurdities and a look at what might really be going on.

Being a red blooded Canadian boy I just have to deal with the sex thing first.

Buhlinda, the former Minister of Complex Files, finds herself in the middle of a nasty divorce. The latest dirt is dished here and here. What I find especially interesting is this excerpt from the TorStar piece.

But sources close to the couple — by which I mean the alleged couple, Tie and Belinda — told the Star that the purported pair feel broadsided by the incendiary contents of Mrs. Domi's divorce application, with Tie particularly frantic about how such open hostility will affect their kids.

Tie and Buhlinda feel broadsided! These two assholes deserve each other. But it does get better/worse. Buhlinda is.........wait for it ..........a VICTIM.

"I'm not going to comment on it at this point in time, whether it's true or false," Stronach told CTV's Mike Duffy Live. "I'm not going to comment on my personal life at this moment."
She said it was a matter between the courts and the Domi family.

"It's right now a matter that is before the courts between two individuals and they need to sort it out so I'm not going to make any comments at this time," said Stronach.

But Stronach did comment when asked if a man in her position would receive the same level of media scrutiny.

"I'd like to say in a country like Canada that there isn't but I do believe there is a double standard," she said. "It's very unfortunate for other women in this country that want to seek political office and make a contribution."

Buhlinda........just a thought here.......but if you want to make a contribution to all things right, good, fuzzy and warm....quit fucking some other woman's husband.

Soooo....that's enough sex......onto the thugs.

Of course when one mentions the LPC and thugs in the same breath one or two names come to mind. Let's start with the obvious...Sideshow Joe Volpe and Alfonso Gagliano. Unfortunately it doesn't stop there. I would like to add the esteemed prof. from Harvard to the list.

Despite being vaunted as the architect of the new catechism of Libraldom by non other than that tired old fart in the goofy cap...Peter C. Newman, the same games are being played.

The money clip here:

Allegations of membership irregularities spread Monday from long-shot contender Joe Volpe to presumed front-runner Michael Ignatieff.

A complaint was filed with the party’s Ontario wing over 60 members allegedly signed up improperly by Ignatieff’s camp in two Toronto-area ridings, including one man in Ignatieff’s constituency who is dead.

Way to go Iggy.....they thought you were a pussy.....then again getting tenure can be a nasty bit of business eh? It would seem that the pundits may have miscalculated your political guile. Welcome to the majors.

Then there's sideshow Joe. What can you say about Joe that he hasn't parodied himself? I will therefore limit my critique to four words......Rich kids.... Dead delegates. I could link ya but redundancy has it's limits.

On to more headier matters. Hot Cross Heddy. I can only imagine the psychological trauma dear Heddy was subjected to when the spectre of Libralism showed it's ugly face. Given Heddy's hypersensitivity to men in sheets is it any wonder she decided to withdraw? Shame on you boys. Where Heddy parked her "support" (such as it is ) tells the real story.

Heddy is backing Bob Rae.

Which leads me to the same old same old.

Being a tradesman who lives by the seasons I appreciate my down time. The advent of the fall season is a precurser of the days to come. A time to read. On the top of my list are these two tomes. Found here and here.

Having given both a superficial look I think I've detected a few commom themes. This quote from old news Alfonso:

Embattled Liberal leadership candidate Joe Volpe is the victim of anti-Italian sentiment, says former public works minister Alfonso Gagliano, who blames the same ethnic prejudice for his own fall from grace.

Change a few words and it sounds like the same sad story Buhlinda is claiming. All victimization aside this is not the real importance of Alfo's rant. It becomes apparant here:

He stands by Jean Chretien as "a great leader" and acknowledges that he might have avoided the entire arduous affair if he had accepted two earlier offers from the former prime minister to become Canada's ambassador in Rome before accepting the one for Denmark under pressure when the scandal was breaking in the news.

Then there is this from an old school Liberal insider:

A new book from one of Jean Chretien's top lieutenants paints an unflattering portrait of Paul Martin, describing him as a political boil that should have been lanced years earlier.

The 400-page book by Eddie Goldenberg hits store shelves in the midst of Liberal efforts to defuse partisan bickering and choose a new leader -- an exercise many Grits are hoping will bridge the gap between the rivalling Martin-Chretien camps.

In polotics timing is everything, something Jean Cretin understood all too well. The timing of these two book releases smells of putine. I'm thinking JC still has a hand in the game. The asshole couldn't speak either of our official languages but you have to admit he was a master of the backroom deal/knife toss.

So what else does slimey insider Eddie have to say? Who would have guessed:

Goldenberg is supporting longtime friend Bob Rae in the current leadership contest, although he also has kind words in his book for another contender, Stephane Dion, Chretien's onetime unity minister.

Surprise.... Surprise....Eddie likes the Bobster. Then to close the deal Fast Eddie accuses Martin (and therefore subliminally ex-Martinites) of the greatest crime in Libraldom. Failing to pay homage to P. E. T. himself.

This gem:

Goldenberg also reveals that Martin had no objection to a plan from Chretien to budget $125 million for a foundation for postgraduate scholarships commemorating former prime minister Pierre Trudeau after his death.

But "he made it clear to me that he was not prepared to be part of any government announcement in commemoration of Pierre Elliott Trudeau," writes Goldenberg, adding that Martin refused to be photographed with Trudeau's two sons, Alexandre and Justin.

Blasphemy!!! Now if that doesn't get the spittle flying from the slack lips of every good Lib nothing will.

Anyways.....As near as I can figure the the old school Libs are lining up behind Bob Rae. One more tidbit from Paul Wells' recent extensive piece.

Rae may have come pretty close to running Ontario into the ground in the 1990s, but he has emerged as the standard-bearer for Liberals who believe managerial competence is the party's most important asset. He comes by this aura honestly enough: his brother, John Rae, ran Jean Chrétien's campaigns. It explains why Rae has attracted a lot of talent, if not much youth. "The call from John Rae is an important call, to which most Liberals would tend to listen closely," one Liberal told me.

There were audible gasps when Jean Pelletier, the former Quebec City mayor who served as Jean Chrétien's chief of staff for six years, showed up to listen to the proceedings at the Capitole. Fewer Liberals were surprised when Pelletier, who maintains he has no dog in this race, sat with a group of Rae supporters. They're who a guy like Jean Pelletier knows.

Audible gasps. I wonder if Iggy heard them??? While I may have welcomed you to the majors....these guys are throwing spitters. Good luck Iggy!!!

Same old same old. PowerCorp...Demarais....and Chairman Mo. Welcome to the NEW LPC. Thanks for coming out.

Syncro

Sideshow Joe Volpe VS. Diamond Iggy Quimby

Dateline Springfield:

In what could only be described as a "school-yard brawl", a fight broke out between frontrunner Diamond Iggy Quimby, and Sideshow Joe Volpe. In a battle for the hearts, minds, and pocketbooks of the best and brightest at Springfield Elementary.

As Bart, Lisa and Milhouse ( he donated $5400) looked on the battle raged.

Meanwhile, Principle MacKinnon observed.

It was rather ugly, when Sideshow Joe's "consultants" came in to calm the situation. Eventually they left in a stretched Lincoln Navigator.

After coming to his senses, Iggy Quimby signed up both Snowball I and Snowball II.

I think it was a draw.

Anyways, what do ya think these pricks will do tomorrow?

Syncro & The Tubster



P.S.... watch out for the Lincoln Navigator.

Dead Men Tell No Tales

I came across an interesting press release at the LPC website.

September 23, 2006

MONTREAL - The Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) reaffirms that Mr. Alfonso Gagliano is not registered on the list of members in good standing of the party. Indeed, Mr. Gagliano has tried to register online on the national Website of the party and may have received an automated message acknowledging the receipt of his request. The latter, however, still had to be approved by the provincial wing of the party. As such, the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) confirms that Mr. Gagliano's request has been refused.

In stark contrast we find this piece regarding LPC membership and party loyalty.

Some pertinent excerpts:

MPs supporting Liberal leadership candidate Joe Volpe say they won't desert him, despite allegations his campaign improperly paid for party memberships in Quebec.

"I believe in Joe and I think Joe is very capable to run the party as well as the country," Oak Ridges-Markham MP Lui Temelkovski said yesterday.

He threw his weight behind Volpe (Eglinton-Lawrence), along with Montreal MP Massimo Pacetti (Saint-Leonard-Saint Michel), and Ontario's Joe Comuzzi (Thunder Bay-Superior North) and Wajid Khan (Mississauga-Streetsville).

"He's a hard-working man and will continue to work with the party," Temelkovski added.

The Toronto Star reported yesterday dozens of people in Montreal-area ridings including at least two dead people had been improperly signed up as federal Liberal party
members.

So whats up here? Amid a growing controversy over party memberships the LPC takes the time to issue a press release saying Alfonso Gagliano is persona non grata. I mean really, after all those years of tough slogging for the party, packing all those heavy brown envelopes...this is the thanks he gets!!!!

But Why???

OH.....I just came across this. It seems Alfonso has taken up writing. Some of the juicier tidbits:

In the book, Gagliano maintains as he has throughout his tribulations that he did no wrong as minister of public works, under whose auspices the tainted sponsorship program was run, and that he is the innocent victim of a smear campaign by elements of the media and his political enemies, foremost among them Paul Martin.

In a passage entitled "the pathetic spectacle of Paul Martin," Gagliano charges that Martin used the sponsorship affair to discredit Chretien and his loyalists, and suggests that he pumped up the scandal to distract from controversy over $70 million in federal subsidies that his family firm was accorded while he was finance minister.

Alfonso concludes with this observation:

Gagliano, who came to Canada from Sicily when he was 16 years old, takes pride in his achievements and praises Canada for making them possible. But he also maintains that ethnic prejudice played prominently in his fall from grace.

"I believe that if my name had been Lapierre, Arcand or Cournoyer, I would not have been accused, condemned and executed in the public arena without having been heard out. My greatest misfortune in political torment was to be what I am, with my name, my accent, my features and my personality."

While I can feel Alfonso's pain, a quick inspection of the ethnicity of the deceased Liberal members in question would seem to indicate otherwise.

No Alfonso.......If I understand this correctly the good ship Liberal prefers dead members to live ones with word processors.

Arrrrrr Matey!!!

Syncro

Jan Continues to Speculate----The CBC Continues to Obfuscate

The controversy surround Jan Wong's Sept. 16th piece in the Globe and mail continues to swirl. Today it culminated in what amounts to an apology from G&M editor in chief Edward Greenspon.

CTV has the run down here. Some of the more pertinent excerpts follow here:

In his Letter to the Editor column published in the Globe on Saturday, Edward Greenspon wrote, "We regret that we allowed these words to get into a reported article,'' in which Wong raised the possibility that the shootings were linked to Quebecers' alleged prejudice against immigrants and a sense of alienation in non-francophone communities.

"While we feel the reaction to the article has been disproportionate -- including personal attacks on Jan and her family -- in hindsight, the paragraphs were clearly opinion and not reporting and should have been removed from that story,'' Greenspon wrote.

"To the extent they may have been used, they should have been put into a separate piece clearly marked opinion. That particular passage of the story did not constitute a statement of fact, but rather a thesis -- and thus did not belong in the article.''

Quite a remarkable statement by the editor in chief of a national daily.....Essentially that editorial speculation has no place in a hard news piece. As near as I can tell the paragraphs causing all the controversy are as follows:

"What many outsiders don't realize is how alienating the decades-long linguistic struggle has been in the once-cosmopolitan city,'' she wrote.

"It hasn't just taken a toll on long-time anglophones, it's affected immigrants, too. To be sure, the shootings in all three cases were carried out by mentally disturbed individuals. But what is also true is that in all three cases, the perpetrator was not pure laine, the argot for a `pure' francophone.''

"Elsewhere, to talk of racial `purity' is repugnant. Not in Quebec.''

Jan finds herself in hot water for speculating on the motivation of homicidal maniacs, going so far as to speculate the "root cause" of such behavior is linguistic and cultural alienation. Fair enough. I would have to agree with Edward Greenspon that this hardly constitutes hard reporting.

The CTV article concludes with the following statements:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrote a letter to the Globe on Wednesday, calling Wong's argument prejudiced, absurd, irresponsible and without foundation.

The House of Commons also condemned the piece and, in a motion supported by all political parties, demanded an apology from the newspaper.

In a letter published in last Saturday's edition of the Globe, Quebec Premier Jean Charest called Wong's suggestion a "disgrace.''

So to summarize; The Prime Minister, The House of Commons (supported by all parties) and the Premier of Quebec all objected to Ms. Wong's psychic speculation.

Just for fun lets go have a look at how the CBC reported the same story.

Comments in a recent article by a Globe and Mail writer who suggested Quebec's francophone culture may have contributed to the Dawson College shootings should have been removed, the newspaper's editor-in-chief said Saturday.

In his Letter from the Editor column in the Globe's Saturday edition, Edward Greenspon wrote: "We regret that we allowed these words to get into a reported article."

Wong's comments drew a swift and furious response from Quebecers of all stripes, Greenspon noted.

So far so good. Sticking to the facts is a good thing. But watch what happens next.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Quebec Premier Jean Charest wrote letters to the paper condemning Wong's remarks, but Wong said the two rebuked her article just to get votes in the province.

"I feel that it's opportunistic," Wong told CBC News. "In Stephen Harper's case, judging from his letter, I don't think he actually read the article. I think that they want votes in Quebec and they see this as a cheap and easy way to get it. Dump on a journalist."

Wong said Harper just wants to "patch things up with Charest" over their differences on scrapping the gun registry.

"I felt it was really crass, however, he also has the right to his opinion," she said.

"I just feel that the office of the prime minister should not be used in this way to dump on a reporter. I think he should do other things with his office."


Ohhh... Jan..Jan...Jan....your omniscience is showing again. Having pissed off most of the citizens of Quebec, the Prime Minister, The House of Commons, The Premier and your Editor in Chief this is what you offer as a mea culpa........more unfounded speculation and hints at victimization????

But that's not all Jan had to say.......noooo......Watch this:

She said she's surprised by the reaction to her feature. Wong, who is of Asian descent and a third-generation Quebecer, said many of the attacks against her have been racist.

"And in a way, I think it might prove what I was trying to get at. I mean, I'm a Quebecer," Wong said.

"Of course when this happens, I'm not. I'm actually one of those people in the middle that I was talking about. So, all a sudden I'm Asian."

So if I read this correctly you were right all along Jan? This is proven by the shabby treatment you have received since interjecting speculative observations into an emotionally charged situation? Jan your logic is astounding in the depth of its arrogance. But hell Jan isn't done yet!!

In one final career crushing act of unimaginable contradiction Jan offers this gem.

Wong refused to discuss the content of her piece.

"I didn't want to talk about what I wrote because what I wrote is out there."

"If people don't want to agree, that's fine. I welcome a debate.

I don't want to talk about it but I welcome debate!! Absolutely brilliant!!! I look forward to your next piece in the Stump Lake Sentinal.

But here's the kicker. As near as I can tell the CBC writer responsible for reporting on the story of a fellow journalist in trouble for speculating rather than reporting, chose to devote half of the text of the article on the further speculations of this same journalist.

Do you think this idiot may have missed the point also?

Christ these pompous assholes get everything they deserve.

Syncro

Lazarus of Bethany Confirmed as Card Carrying LPC Member

In light of the recent revelations by the Toronto Star regarding Joe Volpe's membership drive practices, I decided to dig a little deeper into this breaking story.

I have unconfirmed reports that Lazarus of Bethany has been designated a card carrying Liberal and appears to have signed his membership papers prior to the crutial cut off date of July 3rd 2006. This would make Lazarus eligible to participate in delegate selection meetings.

Sources also indicate that Volpe campaign spokesman Corey Hobbs and Steven MacKinnon, National Director of the LPC had this to say regarding Lazarus' membership:

Volpe campaign spokesman Corey Hobbs said "all memberships are in full compliance with the Canada Elections Act and with Liberal party guidelines.

"Similarly, Steven MacKinnon, the Liberal party's national director, said he saw "nothing particularly untoward" about the membership.

"On the surface, there's certainly nothing miraculous at all."

The above comments are eerily similar to others reported here regarding a previous misunderstanding regarding the Volpe campaign.

In a somewhat related story, it is expected that in a cost cutting measure Joe Volpe will assume responsibility for catering the upcoming LPC Leadership Convention. Sources indicate that sisters of the aforementioned Lazarus, Mary and Martha (also card carrying Liberals) will be bringing fishes and loaves. It is assumed that Mr. Volpe will do the rest.

Syncro

Entitlement vs. Responsibility.....What Kind of Canadian are You?

I came across this excellent article this morning by Andrew Coyne. Once again AC displays his talent for cutting through the BS to expose the real issue at hand.

An excerpt to whet your appetite:

Here's a statistic guaranteed to set your teeth on edge: Of the 15,000 Lebanese citizens evacuated from Beirut by Canadian Forces during last month's war -- the largest such operation this country has mounted since the Second World War, at a cost of $85-million -- some 7,000 are reported to have returned home. Home, as in Lebanon.

I guess this only proves the point that home really is where the heart is. But lets look at this from a logical perspective. It seems that nearly half of the part-time hyphenated Canadians that were rescued from war ravaged Lebanon have seen fit to return.

By my math that constitutes an expenditure of some $40 million to ensure these Canadian "citizens" had a safe holiday from the turmoil in their country of choice. I have no doubt that many of these same people were the ones who complained bitterly about the timing of the sea lift and the horrid conditions to which they were subjected. One might even say their "rights" as Canadian citizens were not properly respected.

"Outrageous", you say. When viewed through the filtered lens of entitlement all becomes clear. Back to AC to clarify.

Why were Canadian ships sent thousands of miles across the sea to pluck another country's citizens out of harm's way? Because, as you well know, they are also Canadian citizens. That is, they are dual citizens, beneficiaries of a 1977 change in immigration legislation, and as such, though many have not lived or paid taxes in this country for several years, are entitled to all the protections the Canadian state affords.


Despite the public outrage this aroused at the time, the Harper government wisely decided the middle of a war was not the time to revisit the principle of dual citizenship: They were Canadian citizens, and that was that. But the war being now ended, the government is said to be considering whether to abolish this strangely ambivalent status, to which at least four million foreign-born Canadians, plus an uncounted number of native-born, lay claim.


If so, this would be an event of enormous symbolic importance. Moreover, it would fit this Prime Minister's broader aim, which is nothing less than to recast the meaning of Canadian nationhood -- as a moral project, in which we are collectively and individually engaged, rather than a simple dispenser of services; something that lays claims upon us, as much as it confers entitlements. And the very least claim it can make upon us is that we commit ourselves to it, to the exclusion of all others.

There it is.......The crux of the entire matter. Entitlements with Responsibility. An expectation from your nation that these entitlements come with a price.......your solemn commitment as a citizen to contribute to the moral fiber and health of the nation.

It comes as no surprise that the policy of dual citizenship was the creation of a Trudeau government. A man, I might remind you, who enjoyed the entitlements of Canadian citizenship while avoiding the responsibilities of military service.

This moral sickness has been fostered and epitomized by years of rule by the LPC. Who can forget David Dingwalls..."I'm entitled to my Entitlements"! or Jean Cretins..."So a few million dollars got lost".

But lets look at a more current example of the LPC sense of entitlement totally devoid of responsibility. Yesterday Hamid Karzai addressed the House of Commons on the Canadian military and humanitarian commitment to Afghanistan, a commitment ordered by the previous Liberal government.

This from the Ottawa Sun

A Conservative MP has blasted the "total disrespect" shown by Liberal and NDP MPs who skipped yesterday's historic address in Parliament by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
Deepak Obhrai, the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, said it's a disgrace so many MPs played hooky from the House of Commons as Canadian soldiers put their lives on the line in Afghanistan and a critical public debate rages.


At least 40 Grits were no-shows for the speech.


"The Canadian soldiers have spilled their blood for the Afghan people, and Mr. Karzai had come to thank them, but as usual the Liberals showed total disrespect to the Canadian Forces and to the Canadian people by not even having the courtesy to show up," Obhrai said.


Pat Breton, a spokesman for Liberal Leader Bill Graham, estimated only 60 of the 102 Liberal MPs were present in the House due to the leadership campaign.


"We sent out the message that we hoped all members would make their way back to Ottawa, but the reality is that the delegate selection is next weekend, and that was a priority," he said.


There you have it folks. A spokesman for the current LPC leader acknowledges that the rights of LPC MP's to engage in partisan political exercises aimed at regaining power for the sake of power trumps their responsibilities as servants of the Nation.

As in any organization, corporation or indeed nation the tone of the "corporate culture" is established from the top down. The moral bankruptcy that has crippled this nation is not hard to follow to its roots. But where does that leave us now?

Back to AC for the answer:

There is, however, an older tradition, memories of which lie buried deep in this country's collective consciousness, and it is one I believe the current Prime Minister is attempting to tap. You can see it in his invocation of our moral obligations in Afghanistan, in his unflinching challenge to Canadians to live up to our sometimes lofty notion of ourselves, even at the cost of Canadian lives.

Some look at our losses in Afghanistan and complain that we are bearing a "disproportionate" share of the burden. But there was a time when Canadians would have worn such distinctions with pride.

So we stand at a national crossroad, one which challenges our very notion of being Canadian. Are there enough of us left willing to accept the RESPONSIBILITY inherent in our citizenship? Or have we become a nation of whiners and special interest groups intent on getting our ENTITLEMENTS?

Syncro

Silly Season Synopsis

This time of year is noted as the silly season. A time when no real business is done, a time where Canadians lavish in the luxuries of a hard earned summer. This year something is different on the bar-b-que circuit.

War rages in the middle east, gas prices soar and yet we move on. So what is so different?

The tone.

For the first time in a generation we have a leader who takes his job seriously.

The results:

A definitive position on the ME rather than the mealy mouthed mulch we are used to.
An unprecedented evacuation of Canadian passport holders from a war zone.
An evacuation flight rather than a photo op.
Amends for a long past racist head tax.
Reparation for Hep-C victims of the blood system.
Squaring up with a WWII vet on pension issues.

The silly season is only half over and it seems this government has kept their nose to the grindstone.

When was the last time that Cretin/Martin did anything other than kiss ass in the silly season?

The LPC should be very afraid. BTW grab another dog boys......yer gonna need it.

Syncro

Rhetorical Necessity??

The recent deaths of four UN peacekeepers including one Canadian in southern Lebanon has elicited a myriad of responses from the chattering class. Predictably the majority opinion in the MSM has been decidedly anti-Israeli, with some going so far as to suggest that this was a deliberate attack on the UNFIL observers for some Machiavellian purposes.

Those who hold this position reek of stupidity rooted in a firm commitment to ignore the facts at all costs. The lefty spin and brainless attempts at revisionist reporting are beginning to wear thin.

Case in point. This assessment of the incident by CP reporter Sue Baily has the basic facts but ventures off on the usual tangent.


OTTAWA (CP) - Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, or "Maj. H.v.K." as he signed his e-mails, loved his work as a career soldier with a gusto that was his trademark.
Family, friends and former colleagues prayed for the best and braced for the worst as they waited for word on the UN observer's fate in one of the most precarious regions in the Middle East


Well you got that right Sue! The UNFIL observation post in question could be described as precarious. I laud your keen sense of the obvious. Tell me more Sue.

The incident is shaping up to be a major international embarrassment for Israeli leaders, who say the observer station was hit by accident.

But a preliminary UN report released to The Associated Press says the peacekeepers called the Israeli military 10 times in the hours leading up to the fatal strike, asking them to stop nearby bombings.

The debacle did not appear to soften Harper's support for Israel's powerful show of force.

Hmmmm....major embarrassment....unheeded pleas for mercy.......debacle.....and mean old Harper still supports the Israelis powerful show of force. Message received Sue. Not only do you have a keen sense of the obvious but your liberal use of hyperbole is supercalafragalisticexpealadocious. What else ya got Sue?

Hess-von Kruedener described in a July 18 e-mail to CTV the growing chaos surrounding his UN post in Khiam, a dusty village about 10 kilometres from where the Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian borders intersect.

"What I can tell you is this: we have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both artillery and aerial bombing," he wrote.

"The closest artillery has landed within two metres of our position and the closest 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) aerial bomb has landed 100 metres from our patrol base."

"This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity."

Aha!!! Thank you so much for including some facts in your article Sue!!! I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. The really interesting thing about these facts is that they are the written words of the now dead CF officer. So how did Sue interpret this missive from Maj. HvK?? Well she didn't, rather she found someone with an opinion that supports her particular take on things.

Harry Bloom, eastern vice-president of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Association, spent a year in the early 1970s patrolling the exact terrain where Hess-von Kruedener served.

"It's rocky, it's hilly, it's dangerous," Bloom said. "The area has always been dangerous for travellers."

Bloom, now retired at 66, said he wasn't surprised by news that an Israeli bomb had hit the post - and he doesn't believe it was an accident.

"I agree with (UN Secretary General) Kofi Annan's comment that it seemed to be an intentional hit. It would have to be. The outposts are so well-identified with blue and white paint and flags. A pilot cannot mistake that outpost for anything else."
Bloom described repeated "altercations" with Israeli forces when he was stationed there.

"They would fire from behind us, knowing that returned fire would land in our outpost. So to me, it's not a surprise. Not at all."

He also explained why he thought Israel would attack unarmed UN observers.
"The UN is no great friend as far as the Israelis are concerned," Bloom said in an interview from his home in Orleans, Ont., east of Ottawa.

"When the Israelis do anything on that ceasefire line, the UN is there. The Israelis don't necessarily like someone watching them."

Well done Sue!!! You managed to find a military expert who was at this very post some thirty years ago. Furthermore, this expert can attest to the dirty Jeewws propensity for hiding behind UN forces and their desire to keep their manic murdering ways from prying eyes.

But apparently some of the MSM have a very different take on all this. The Ottawa Citizen seems to have done a little more leg work.

The words of a Canadian United Nations observer written just days before he was killed in an Israeli bombing of a UN post in Lebanon are evidence Hezbollah was using the post as a "shield" to fire rockets into Israel, says a former UN commander in Bosnia.

Those words, written in an e-mail dated just nine days ago, offer a possible explanation as to why the post -- which according to UN officials was clearly marked and known to Israeli forces -- was hit by Israel on Tuesday night, said retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie yesterday.

"What I can tell you is this," he wrote in an e-mail to CTV dated July 18. "We have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both (Israeli) artillery and aerial bombing.

"The closest artillery has landed within 2 meters (sic) of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 meters (sic) from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but rather due to tactical necessity."

The same quote from Maj. HvK as the CP piece but with a different analysis from a military expert, Maj.-Gen Lewis MacKenzie. So what do you think Lew??

Those words, particularly the last sentence, are not-so-veiled language indicating Israeli strikes were aimed at Hezbollah targets near the post, said Maj.-Gen. MacKenzie.

"What that means is, in plain English, 'We've got Hezbollah fighters running around in our positions, taking our positions here and then using us for shields and then engaging the (Israeli Defence Forces)," he said.

That would mean Hezbollah was purposely setting up near the UN post, he added. It's a tactic Maj.-Gen. MacKenzie, who was the first UN commander in Sarajevo during the Bosnia civil war, said he's seen in past international missions: Aside from UN posts, fighters would set up near hospitals, mosques and orphanages.

Aside from the discrepancies on the timeline. (Sue typifies the UNFIL pleas to the Israeli Defense Force as being "in the hours leading up to the fatal strike", whereas the e-mail from Maj. HvK was sent 9 days prior to his demise, suggesting Hezbollah had been hiding behind the UN position from the onset.) Regardless of the fact that your military expert is of questionable pedigree. I have one question.

Was that piece of journalistic tripe you wrote a rhetorical necessity?

Syncro

LEBS and DARTS

So let's do a little compare and contrast.

The previous Government went for the photo op. (flashback........... PMPM is rushed to Markham to empathize with a group of Sri Lankan immigrant kids about the horror of a tsunami. ) It takes 21 days for Canada to insert our DART team into the disaster zone.

We remove about 10,000 Passport Punks from Lebanon within 14 days from the shit hitting the fan.

You do the math.

Syncro

Are We There Yet ???

I just watched the news. CTV and CBC...... I know...I know....
So the last boat from south Lebanon left with between 12 and 48 card carring Canadians, depending on who you beleive.

The running total of Canadians evacuated from the shitpile is running in the 10,000 range.
But this last ship had room (be it not all first class berths) for 1200 Canadians.

So who did we pick up?? Some U-Alls and some Aussies.

How was that fact spun?

I Bet you spotted the play !!!!

Syncro

The Lebs and I

There has been an untold amount of pissing and moaning regarding the Middle East Crisis. What I have not heard is an honest indictment of the Lebanese people.

Apparantly some 40,000 carry a Canadian passport. These folks at one time resided in Canada. Many made their bucks and went "home". And after all is said and done, isn't home is where the heart is?

The final numbers in the evacuation will tell the story.

How many men are on the boats? How many men stay and fight? How many of you are sick of a gang of thugs controlling your country? Did you learn anything while you were here?

It's time to climb out of the ditch.....NOW!!!!

Those of you that have worked with 40 mil and 80 mil know what I mean.

Fer F*cks Sake Stand Up!!

Syncro

I'm Back

Hi All!!

I have taken a hiatis from blogging to deal with life. For those who are interested I'm back ( Hi Mom). I will continue with the Canada in 2020 thread when the CBC finds their whiny voice again.

Until then....bigger fish to fry.

Don't ya just hate it when realism creeps into the scene?

I think they do at MotherCorp.

Syncro

Canada in 2020...The Progressive Propaganda Offensive Begins

This seemingly innocuous article on the tax payer funded CBC website (ironically enough published on Canada Day) tweaked my intuitive spirit. In other words my spidey senses were tingling.

Being a proud "right of center" Canadian and this being Canada Day (Dominion Day), I decided to follow my intuition and see where it led. What I discovered may well be the first salvo fired in a concentrated and co-ordinated "communications war" by the "progressive left" to gain control of the hearts and minds of the average Canadian. This excerpt from the CBC website:

What will Canada look like in 2020?

How would the country change if the cost of oil double or triples in the coming decade? Where and how would we live if global temperatures rise dramatically? What will our cities, our health-care system and Canada's role in the world look like?

The CBC and the Dominion Institute have invited 20 leading thinkers to comment on the single issue or event that they think could transform Canada by 2020.

CBC.ca will post the essays here as they are released over the next six months. Coverage on CBC-TV and CBC Radio includes interviews, commentary and mini-documentaries on the ideas raised by each of the thinkers. Tune into CBC News: Morning, The National, The Current, The Sunday Edition and local CBC radio stations across Canada for more.

Canada in 2020 is an initiative of Dominion Institute in association with La Presse, the Toronto Star and the CBC.

This brought to mind some interesting questions. What does the Dominion Institute stand for? How, if at all, are they linked to the recent 2020 conference held in Mount Tremblant, Quebec? What are the proven editorial tendencies of the MSM partners in this initiative? Who are the driving forces behind Canada 2020? Where and when was this initiative born? What do they hope to achieve? And finally, Why is the CBC committing the considerable resources noted above, to this effort?

As far as La Presse goes I have no basis for formulating an opinion on their editorial proclivities, being fluently uni-lingual. On the other hand the Toronto Star is a noted left leaning publication and is often refered to derisively as The Red Star by right leaning commentators. Finally, the CBC. As a taxpayer funded broadcaster the CBC claims to hold no editorial bias. I beg to differ. That said lets look at a CP article on the 2020 Conference in Mount Tremblant, Quebec.

Canada 2020, the brainchild of a troika of federal Liberal backroomers, fluttered to life this week, aspiring to be a non-partisan breeding ground that allows the airing of progressive public policy ideas unconstrained by immediate electoral considerations.

In fact the two-day conference, anchored by a keynote speech Wednesday night by former U.S. vice-president Al Gore, is expressly designed as an antidote to electoral-cycle policy making.

Most participants said a conference of this sort - focusing on a "small 'p' progressive agenda rather small 'c' conservative," in the words of organizer Susan Smith - is long overdue.

Others, perhaps less starry-eyed, see the conference as the third leg in a Liberal party reconstruction that will augment and provide some intellectual heft to the leadership race and the party's internal "truth and reconciliation" exercise.

Peter Donolo, Jean Chretien's former communications director, said the progressive or left side of the political spectrum has been outmanoeuvred over the past decade by conservative think-tanks, which have generated much of the public policy buzz in North America.

As I noted in a previous post on this site (More Inconvenientt Truth) the 2020 Conference participants were largely LPC operatives. The above quoted CP article confirms this fact and suggests that this conference was in fact "the third leg in a Liberal party reconstruction". Am I off base?? Lets see what The Toronto Star had to say about the 2020 Conference. This link from a progressive website carrying an article by Susan Delacourt of the Toronto Star.

MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec - "Father knows best" isn't just an old TV show any more, it's where Canada and the U.S. beg to differ, according to Environics pollster Michael Adams.
And the difference between Canadian and American attitudes toward big daddy may reveal something larger about how to rebuild the centre-left of the political spectrum in Canada, a task now under way at a big, "progressive politics" conference at the Mont-Tremblant resort.

One of Adams' most stunning illustrations of Canada-U.S. differences to the conference was on the question of family dynamics, specifically the idea of the father as head of the family.
In Canada, that notion has been slowly eroding since 1992. In the United States, it's been growing.

Conference attendees were excited by the Adams' finding.
They believed it underscores the idea that Canadians are far more wary overall of authoritarianism, hierarchy and other hallmarks of conservative politics.

Though this is a non-partisan gathering, it is organized around the idea of reinvigorating political policy that stands in opposition to conservatism and all that Harper appears to represent.

Justin Trudeau, son of the former prime minister, told attendees at the opening of the conference Tuesday night that their focus had to be on getting the left's act together so it can regain power.

"What are we going to do as progressives if we return to power? That's a big challenge and it's one that we need to think about it," Trudeau said.

He summed up the aim of this conference as a search for "what it takes to take over this country once again and make sure we are moving in the right direction."

So it seems pretty clear to me what the goals of the 2020 Conference are. As the eldest son of "himself" put it..."what it takes to take over this country once again"... As I pointed out previously, the 2020 Conference is the opening salvo in a propaganda war and the Toronto Star is clear about their role in this aim. But what are others saying about the 2020 Conference? This from The Hill Times.

MONT-TREMBLANT, QUE.--Former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan, whose Liberal Party was booted out of office in the last election, says all party members have to play an active role in its policy renewal process since it's the first time in 12 years that policy-making is coming directly from the grassroots and not from Cabinet or the PMO.

"Policy renewal process is important after you've been in government for 12 years, most of the policy is driven out of Cabinet, out of the government itself, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the caucus. It's very important for grassroots Liberals to get back and involved in the policy process. They're the people who live in the streets, in the communities, go to the churches all over, mosques all over this country and they're the ones who know what the real challenges are for Canadian families and what those families and communities need to succeed, to be cohesive, to avoid conflict to be able to seize the opportunities that exist here. So, they have to drive this policy renewal process," Ms. McLellan said in an interview with The Hill Times in Mont Tremblant, Que., at the Liberal-dominated Canada 2020 conference.

Ms. McLellan co-chaired the conference entitled "Progressive Policies, Practical Solutions: Policy Choices for the 21st Century," along with another former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley and Francois de Gasp Beaubien, chair and CEO of Zoom Media.

The Liberal Party currently is undergoing a policy renewal process and has set up 32 task forces under the leadership of Tom Axworthy, a Liberal policy guru, academic and a former senior adviser to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. The policy renewal process will culminate in the form of policy resolutions to be voted on at the December Liberal Convention in Montreal. If passed by a majority of the delegates, the policies will become party policies.

Hmmmm.....By all accounts this "non-partisan" effort seems to have a decidely partisan bent. What I find particularly interesting is the timing. It seems the Canada in 2020 exercise will culminate in December at the same time as the LPC leadership convention.

But then again maybe I'm a paranoid right wingnut. Being a good Canadian I defer to the "most trusted news source" in Canada. Of course I refer to our nation public broadcaster...The CBC.

Where does the CBC stand? Now herein lies the rhetorical twist, the CBC is selling their ongoing coverage of Canada in 2020 as a "non-partisan" initiative by a "non-profit" institute and go so far as to describe these decidedly left opinion pieces as "News In-Depth." Of course they do not identify Canada in 2020 opinion as orginating in a "left wing think tank" as they do with Fraser Institute pieces which come with the "right wing think tank" moniker. A sample of the CBC's characterization of Canada 2020.

Canada in 2020 is an initiative of the non-partisan Dominion Institute in association with CBC News, La Presse, and The Toronto Star.

Canada in 2020 is a four month public dialogue initiated by The Dominion Institute to discover what Canadians think will be the single most important issue facing the country in the year 2020.

The Institute has brought together twenty leading commentators from across Canada to write essays on the single issue or event that they think could transform Canada by the year 2020.

The essays will be published in La Presse and The Toronto Star over four months starting July 1. CBC News will take the discussion started in both papers to a national audience by featuring interviews, commentary, and mini-documentaries on the ideas raised by each of the twenty contributing authors. The public will be encouraged to add its voice to the debate through the project's website and a $2020 essay contest. Canada in 2020 will conclude in December 2006 with a one-day citizens' symposium in Ottawa.

Well that all sounds very inclusive and afterall this is a "non-partisan" effort. So if I read this correctly the "non-biased" CBC is going to take these "non-partisan" essays and expand on the "ideas" they raise. This will be achieved through interviews, commentary and mini-documentaries. I can hardly wait!!

BTW I point you to the questions that were asked in this poll that coincided with the 2020 Conference. Once again back to the CBC. And just in case you didn't see the significance of the this type of polling I suggest this piece from Stephen Taylor on June 20th. (you will have to scroll down.)

Anyways.....I think I've made my point that Canada in 2020 is a propaganda exercise by the LPC and is supported by the usual suspects. Unfortunately right leaning taxpayers are funding a portion of this garbage through government funding of the CBC.

What is not clear are the personalities behind this propaganda push. In my next post I'll make the connections between the LPC, the Toronto Star, the CBC and at least one MSM columnist that I thought knew better.

Syncro

Bush/Harper!!....Bush/Harper!!...and the Usual Moonbattery.

This week's series of defense spending announcements by the Harper government has elicited the first of undoubtedly many more brilliant responses from the left. On point is Jim Travers of the Toronto Star.

One of life's vexing dilemmas is deciding the right price for something that's wanted more than it's needed. For Stephen Harper the answer is, give or take a few millions, $3 billion.

That's about what Ottawa will spend on giant strategic lift aircraft that Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor is buying and both Boeing and the Bush administration worked so hard to sell. Once the C-17 Globemasters arrive, Canada will be delivering troops, equipment and relief supplies to domestic and international emergencies in planes that, truth be told, can be rented as effectively — and more cheaply.

Is that so Jim? Please elucidate.

Is $3 billion too much to pay for waving the Maple Leaf flag? Are cargo planes a pressing priority for a country with so many other costly problems on its plate?
Those are self-evidently dumb questions with deceptively difficult answers. What makes them so difficult is that the federal government has reasons to want heavy-lift capacity even if it's relying on myth and misunderstanding to convince taxpayers the military is desperate for the Boeings.

Hmmmm......self evidently dumb questions........should I expect self evidently dumb answers? Let's see.

The myth is that the planes are essential to airlift the military where it's needed, when it's needed. Former defence minister John McCallum challenged that notion three years ago and now says the high command couldn't site a single example where the forces were immobilized because they couldn't arrange timely rentals.

Jim, I must respectfully call Bullshit! It seems to me we had a little problem inserting the DART team in response to the boxing day tsunami. What was the problem there?? This from CTV.

Who decides when DART will be deployed?

The United Nations or an individual country may request the services of DART but the final decision is in the hands of the Canadian government, which confers with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Department of National Defence, and the
Canadian International Development Agency.

The final decision is based on funding, higher priority commitments, airlift availability, weather, geography and accessibility.

Before the Canadian government can deploy the team, the host country must agree to or request its assistance.

So when did we get the DART team on the ground?

The first of five planes carrying DART cargo and personnel left Canada for Sri Lanka on Jan. 6. The fifth and final flight is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on Jan. 16 and will also carry humanitarian aid arranged by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).The personnel will also help build sanitation facilities and toilets.

So the first of our rapid response disaster team arrived on the 7th of January and the entire unit on the 16th. Hmmmm..... 21 days to get the whole crew in country. Well, maybe it took them some time to spool up their gear. I wonder when they were ready to go?

The deployment of what is supposed to be a rapid-response unit to the tsunami disaster was held up by political haggling even though the team was on high alert within 24 hours of the disaster.

Reports alleged that the debate centred on the high cost of the $20-million mission.

Naysayers have also criticized the logistical problems. DART has dispatched five planeloads of cargo and personnel just to set up camp in Sri Lanka. After a long plane ride, the team faces another 12-hour road trip.

So how did we get the DART team to Sri Lanka? Oh yea, the same way we moved DART into Pakistan in response to the earthquake disaster. Once again I cite CTV.

A giant transport plane loaded with equipment and supplies for Canada's disaster relief team is winging its way to Islamabad.

The six-engine, Ukrainian Antonov AN-225 lifted off from CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario at 10 a.m. EDT, loaded with about 75 tonnes of supplies.

The Antonov, considered the world's largest aircraft, must make about three or four more trips to move all of the Disaster Assistance Response Team's gear.

BTW the AN-225 is only slightly larger than a C-17 Globemaster.

So I'm thinking that's enough facts. Back to Jim.

Among those Harper is pleasing are O'Connor, the arms industry that until recently paid his lobbying fees, Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier, George W. Bush and, of course, Boeing. In buying everything from the Globemasters to helicopters, ships and trucks, Harper ends a nasty dispute between O'Connor and Hillier and sends another strong signal south that, more than a friend, Canada is an ally.

That's important to an increasingly isolated Bush administration. And it's a help to both the Pentagon and Boeing as they try to extend the slowing Globemaster production run as far as possible.

Lump those considerations together and suddenly adding heavy strategic lift to this country's military capabilities isn't quite so puzzling. A defence minister and his top general must make peace to wage war and perhaps $3 billion isn't excessive if it helps Canada continue reaping the much larger benefits of living under the U.S. security umbrella.

Well Jim, I have to agree with you on one point. There is in fact a price to be paid for national security and I might point out for timely humanitarian aid. Unfortunately you lost me with this specious statement.

It's easy to argue that those billions could be better spent on, say, health, education, the environment or finally doing something about squalid aboriginal life.

Mr. Travers you are a shameless hack.But I will leave you with the last word.

Compromise is part of politics and in bridging the difference between wants and needs the Prime Minister is putting wide smiles on many faces. And that's worth every cent of every billion, isn't it?

Syncro

More Inconvienent Truth.

Another day and another example of blatant hypocrisy by the LPC and the MSM. The most recent example is rooted in that darling of the Left, the Kyoto Accord. Having failed miserably for 12 years to enact any meaningful plan to meet the greenhouse gas emissions reductions they signed up for, the LPC now looks south for inspiration to an even bigger failure......Al Gore.

Mr. Gore was in Canada to pimp his appropriately named junk science "documentary", An Inconvienent Truth. Of course Gore carefully selected a receptive group to tout his Kyoto message. Not suprisingly, Jane Taber has exclusive insight to the closed door meeting of selected lefties, many of whom are LPC MP's.


Gore preaches green gospel to Canadians

Liberals tell former U.S. vice-president that they're upset by Harper's stand on climate change

JANE TABER

MONT-TREMBLANT, QUE. -- Al Gore heard yesterday from current and former Liberal MPs about the direction the Harper government is taking on the issue of climate change.

So the Libs are upset with Harper's position. I assume they believe that their record of platitudes followed by inaction is/was the preferable strategy. Given that, it makes sense that they would seek solace and inspiration from a failed American Democrat. As VP to Bill Clinton, Al Gore was part of an administration that opted out of Kyoto. But hey, that's an inconvienent truth. What is more important is that Al has hope:

"I hope that both the United States and Canada will become officially part of the solution," he told reporters after attending a cocktail reception with a select few of the 160 conference participants, many of whom are Liberals, including former and current MPs and ministers. Reporters were not allowed to hear his speech.

Reporters were not allowed into this lefty love-in. I guess that explains Jane Taber's exclusive in as much as referring to her as a reporter amounts to an oxymoron. I suggest Propogandist is a more appropriate description for Jane. Another inconvienent truth, but don't take my word for it, lets just take a look at Jane's brand of "reporting".

Liberal Leader Bill Graham said that Mr. Gore "was very good on his view that we need a progressive agenda in the world and . . . there is a threat by various conservative regimes."

Liberal leadership candidate Stéphane Dion, a former environment minister, said he also talked to Mr. Gore about the environment.

"I spoke to him about the fact that we brought the world together in Montreal [at the UN Climate Change conference last December] and he told me some people are working to bring the world apart," Mr. Dion said.

"He did not mention the government and I didn't. I never, never will speak against my government when I am with international personalities," he said, noting that in opposition Stephen Harper appeared on American television to criticize the Liberal government for not going into Iraq.

I wonder which "conservative regimes" Bill Graham is referring to? But you have to admit Jane managed to set the context quite nicely for Stephan Dion to offer his charming bit of double speak. Which leads me to the next" inconvienent truth", Dion claims that he never mentioned the Canadian government nor did Gore. A quick examination of this article appearing on the LPC website would appear to indicate that either Dion is lying, Jane Taber is guilty of sloppy reporting or the LPC website is attributing false statements to Al Gore.

Mr. Gore urged Canadians to demand that the Conservative government take action to combat global warming.

"I hope you will ensure Canada restores its tradition and moral authority to help us save this," he said. “I hope what has happened in the US won't repeat itself here. I don't think it will. I don't think the Bush-Cheney-Harper administration will last."

Hmmmm..... I guess technically Dion is right, there is no Bush-Cheney-Harper administration except in the minds of the paranoid left. So if I add this all up correctly liberals are moral, conservatives are amoral, canadian Liberals are patriotic, canadian Conservatives are....er Americans? But even worse is this "inconvienent truth" from the may issue of Discover magazine.


German researchers have identified a previously unknown emitter of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The culprit: ordinary plants.

The first hints arrived last year when the European Space Agency's ENVISAT satellite detected huge clouds of methane above forested areas. Scientists could not understand where the gas came from, because they thought methane was produced only in oxygen-poor environments like swamps and rice paddies, where decomposition occurs. To investigate, geochemist Frank Keppler and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics placed a variety of plants in test chambers and filled the rooms with methane-free air. He was amazed to see chemical sensors in the room quickly begin detecting methane. "At the moment, it is a mystery," he says. "If you look at the textbooks, you will see that it was not envisioned that this could happen."

So it appears that the process of photosynthesis and its impact on greenhouse gas levels is not completely understood.

How Inconvienent.

Syncro